Download Physical Features

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF EUROPE
General Info
Landmass:
6th largest continent (Australia is smaller)
47 countries
Population:
731 million (estimate)
3rd largest Population (Asia and Africa are 1& 2)
Population Density:
176 persons per sq. mile
2nd most densely populated continent
Coastline:
If Europe’s coastline were straightened out it would go
around the world 1.5 times.
Location:
Northern, Western and Eastern Hemispheres
Boundaries: -Atlantic Ocean on the West
-Mediterranean Sea to the South
-Arctic Ocean to the North
-Ural Mountains to the East
----Physical Make-Up “A Peninsula of Peninsulas”
5 Major Peninsulas:
-Scandinavian (Norway & Sweden)
-Jutland (Denmark)
-Iberian (Spain & Portugal)
-Italian (Italy)
-Balkan (Greece, Albania, Macedonia,
Serbia, & Bulgaria)
Atlantic Islands:
-Great Britain (United Kingdom)
-Ireland
-Iceland
Mediterranean Islands:
Corsica (France)
Sardinia (Italy)
Sicily (Italy)
Crete (Greece)
4 Major Land Regions
Northwest Mountains:
Old mountains known as the Scandinavia Highlands.
Northern Great Britain to Northwestern France.
Poor farming area.
Central Uplands:
Low mountains and high plateaus.
Rocky with poor soil and scattered forests.
Rich deposits of minerals.
Great North European Plain:
Covers almost all of Northern Europe.
Flat and rolling land with many polders.
Some of the worlds most fertile farmland.
Most of the farming that is done is located in the North European Plain.
The plain stretches from France to Poland.
About 600 feet above sea level.
Alpine Mountain System:
Southern Europe from Spain to the Balkan Peninsula
Europe is known for its winter sports that are played in its four major
Alpine Chains:
-The Alps (Switzerland, Austria, France, & Italy)
-The Carpathians (Slovakia & Romania)
-The Balkans (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, & Greece)
-The Pyrenees (Spain & France)
Major Rivers:
Most of the rivers in Europe are too shallow for large ships.
The Danube and the Rhine rivers are two that can be navigated by large
shipping vessels.
-Longest River in Central Europe – Danube (Germany)
-Rhine (Switzerland, France, Germany, & Netherlands)
-Thames (England).
Climate:
-The northern part of Europe is a sub-arctic climate.
-Central and western Europe have a Marine West Coast climate.
-The southern part of Europe’s climate is affected by the oceans and seas
and is called a Mediterranean climate.